Health Insurance/Health Care/Privatization
    In Congress I will propose and work for a single-payer national health care system created by reforming and enhancing Medicare - commonly referred to as the "Medicare-For-All" plan. Medicare already provides a single-payer service to tens of millions of Americans. My enhanced Medicare plan includes mental health and substance abuse parity as well as long-term care. Former U.S. Senator Bill Bradley estimates that creating such a national plan will cost $300 billion initially, with declining costs thereafter. The first steps we need to take to pay for this is to eliminate the Bush tax cuts and end the war in Iraq.
    In addition, I will work to close the "donut hole" in Medicare Part D and allow the Federal Government to negotiate for lower prices with the drug companies. The savings from allowing the government to negotiate lower prices will pay for closing the donut hole.
    I believe I am uniquely qualified among the candidates in this race to address health care reform. In 2003, I was the chair of the legislature’s Joint Select Committee on Health Care Reform that created Dirigo Health. That made Maine the first state in the country that simultaneously made a commitment to universal health care while reducing health care costs.
Campaign Contributions
    I have always been a supporter of Clean Elections in Maine, and I will propose a similar Federal system in Congress. Under the current campaign financing system, we have committed to run a true grassroots campaign, supported by hard-working Maine people that has not made any compromises to secure donations. We have received over 1,000 contributions, so far, with a median contribution of $100. A recent study of publicly reported contributions by PolitickerME.com showed that our campaign had a higher percentage of those contributions from within the State of Maine than any other candidate, Democrat or Republican.

    On the other hand, I have no doubt that private funding plays a deeply corrosive role in the political process. As a candidate without any option for public financing, I spend three to four hours a day calling people all the phone to ask them for money, and I believe that time would be far better spent meeting voters and talking about the ideas I have put forward about how to address our society’s most pressing challenges.
Global Warming/Alternative Energy
    One of the most significant symbolic moments in our country's history with this issue was in 1980 when Ronald Reagan took down the solar panels from the White House. It sent a signal that we are just now, nearly 30 years later, realizing we severely need to reverse. In Congress I will support the Safe Climate Act and, in fact, my own proposals mirror much of what is contained in the Act. I have proposed setting a goal of reducing our carbon emissions 80% by 2050 through increased fuel efficiency standards for cars, investing in renewable energy and implementing a cap-and-trade program to control pollution; a windfall-profits tax on oil companies to support these investments; a national home weatherization and conservation program to promote energy efficiency; and development of economic clusters that would help Maine businesses to manufacture renewable energy products such as wind turbines, solar panels, and wood pellets.

    I take a back seat to no one when it comes to qualifications to work on Climate Change. During my five years in the State Senate I received a 100 percent rating every year from the League of Conservation Voters. In my last term in the Senate I sponsored legislation that will have Maine increase its renewable energy portfolio by 10 percent over the next ten years. I also sponsored legislation to expand the Land for Maine’s Future program.

    I was also a staunch defender of the environment when Maine's biggest polluters got behind legislation that would cause great harm. For instance, I was one of five members of the Senate (and the only person in this race) who opposed the "compromise" Androscoggin River bill that has recently - and rightly- come under fire from the DEP for not going far enough to clean up the river.

National Security/Military Spending
    I am the only candidate in this race that is proposing a 10% reduction in military spending. The savings would go toward many of the domestic priorities that are discussed elsewhere in this questionnaire, as well as towards economic conversion that would help create new jobs not related to weapons development - and I am confident that our safety will not be compromised.

Transportation
    I attended the recent public hearing in Portland because I am very much opposed to the proposal to widen I-295. As a legislator, I opposed widening of the Maine Turnpike for similar reasons. In this case, I would support funding for buses, ferries, and paratransit vehicles and for passenger rail as my top two choices. I believe that our public investment should be targeted towards reduction in the use of passenger cars.

    I also support steps to ensure that what cars are left on the road have as little an environmental impact as possible. In the state senate, I passed legislation promoting the use of low-emission vehicles.
International Relations
    America's foreign policy has had a drastic impact on Americans everywhere, including here in Maine. First, we are not made safer by engaging in endless war in the Middle East and saber-rattling in every corner of the world. Second, there is a direct link between the resources we have spent on these military endeavors and the failure of this country to address many of its most pressing domestic needs - and it trickles down to the current deficiencies in the Maine State Budget, the burden of which, history has shown, will fall more heavily on those among us who can least afford it. Third, the US must commit to reducing stockpiles of nuclear weapons around the world and in our own country. Fourth, we must reduce our dependence on fossil fuels, which will in turn make us less reliant on foreign oil.

    In addition, I would add that the global relationship between governments and large multi-national corporations has had an incredibly negative impact on Maine. The complicity of governments in the business world's quest for cheap labor, minimal working condition and environmental regulations has put Maine at too much of a competitive disadvantage. The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is one step that has been particularly harmful for Maine.

    I will begin to address these issues by supporting a completely different approach to foreign policy - one that emphasizes peace and diplomacy - and by opposing trade deals that do not contain sufficient protections for workers and the environment.
Mortgage crisis in ME/Banking and lending
    The crisis in the subprime market is a clear example of the Bush administration’s unwillingness to apply even a minimum amount of regulation to industry. As a result, thousands of homeowners and renters in Maine and millions across the country have lost or are at risk of losing their homes. I support an immediate mandatory freeze on foreclosures as well as a freeze on increases in interest rates.

    We also need long-term solutions to the housing crisis and to abuse of lenders. I have proposed Establishing a National Housing Trust Fund to finance the development of affordable housing, as well as the creation of a Financial Products Safety Commission to protect consumers from deceptive credit practices and products.

Gay Marriage
    Yes. I would support legislation to write that protection into law, and would present the issue to my colleagues as I always have in the Maine legislature -- as a question of basic fairness. I was Senate Majority Leader when we passed legislation that, after defeating a referendum veto attempt, finally prohibited such discrimination in Maine – and I had supported previous attempts to pass such legislation going back to 1993. In 1997 I was one of a small minority of legislators who opposed the “Defense of Marriage Act” in Maine. I also introduced legislation to protect gay and lesbian students from harassment in public schools.
Living Wages/Jobs in ME/poverty/homelessness
    Last June, I announced my candidacy for Congress outside of the Oxford Street homeless shelter in Portland. I said that in the richest country in the world, it wasn’t right that over 100 people had needed to sleep in that shelter the night before – and that the Democratic Party needed to recommit to its longstanding support for those who are struggling. I was proud to be introduced on that day by Donna Yellen, a longtime advocate for the homeless who I worked with on successfully passing legislation that designated as hate crimes physical attacks against homeless people.

    As the chair of the Health and Human Services committee and as one of the legislature's few social workers, I built coalitions in the Augusta that have successfully opposed attacks on social services at the State level. In 2003 and 2004 when I chaired the HHS committee, Maine was one of only a few states in the country that protected Medicaid eligibility when most other states were reducing it. We need leaders who are committed to these principles - but who also are able to persuade and build a coalition of fellow legislators and citizens to rally behind the cause.

    The Bush tax cuts should be repealed and the safety net programs strengthened. What it will take is tireless effort by leaders in Congress, combined with a citizen movement that puts pressure on those in Congress who waver.

    We also need to go on the offensive against poverty, which is at the root of many of these problems. I propose a national campaign to cut poverty by half over the next five years by increasing the earned income tax credit, making work pay and increasing high school graduation rates. This campaign would be the first step in a larger campaign to end poverty in America.

College Affordability
    I have proposed the creation of a National HOPE Scholarship program, modeled after Georgia's program, which pays full tuition for high school students to attend state colleges and universities. I also believe it is important to think about education from birth through college, and we need to provide public financing for universal access to education as meaning a commitment from early childhood through college.

    I believe than any American who wants to go to college should be able to go, and to do so without the fear of being deeply saddled in debt.

AIDS Awareness
    Education and access to services are the keys. We need to continue to spread factual information and we need to make contraception more widely available. We need to invest more in research and development, and to make sure that people with HIV/AIDS have access to appropriate medications.

    We also need to ensure that schools provide complete sexuality education that prepares students to be as safe as possible when they do become sexually active. Students need to fully understand the risks of sexual activity and the best ways to avoid those risks.
Fair Trade/Unions Rights
    I oppose the renewal of TPA, whoever the president is. Congress needs to reassert its role in creating trade policy that is fair. There is too much at stake to let the Executive have exclusive control over trade. It is important to ensure that working people and the need to protect our environment has a role in these debates. I also believe that we should revisit NAFTA, which must either be repealed or significantly changed to reflect labor and environmental concerns.

Iraq War/Torture
    The war in Iraq was badly conceived, tragically executed and based on flawed foreign policy principles. I support an exit strategy that includes an immediate withdrawal of American forces and the cessation of plans for a permanent military base. It is also critical that we engage all of Iraq’s neighbors – including Syria and Iran – as well as the United Nations and the entire international community to ensure that there is broad-based international commitment to giving Iraq a stable future. I would oppose any additional funding that is not related to the withdrawal of troops.

    While I believe we need to remove American troops as quickly and as safely as possible from Iraq, I also believe that the United States must make a commitment to help rebuild the country. I believe that the best way to ensure stability in Iraq over the long term is to help rebuild the infrastructure to allow for an economy that can provide good jobs for the Iraqi people.

Iraq War/Torture
    Yes. America needs to be a moral power, not just an economic and military one - and we can't claim that role if we continue to allow torture. I do believe that waterboarding is torture and that it must be explicitly prohibited – and I feel the same way about other more extreme interrogation methods.

    I also believe that the United States should close its detention camp at Guanatanamo Bay. Like our unclear position on torture, Guantanamo Bay sends a poor message to the rest of the world - and we are a better country than that.
Presidential Power
    Executive power should be checked by the Congress and the Courts, as the framers of the Constitution envisioned. George W. Bush will be judged harshly for many reasons, but the current Congress may be judged just as harshly for being unwilling to assert its proper role.

    One important example is that Congress alone has the power to declare war. I also believe that the President should not be able to pick and choose which pieces of laws passed by Congress that he or she wishes to follow. President Bush has done just this with “signing statements” that he has issued when signing certain pieces of legislation, and which declare the ways in which he will not follow the law even as he is signing it.

Experience that relates to youth
    My own political education came about as a young person. In high school, I attended the first ever Earth Day in 1970; in college I marched against the Viet Nam war and was arrested for doing so; and as an organizer after college I organized successful actions at the University of Massachusetts to gain tenants’ rights for students there.

    Years later as a Maine legislator, I was committed to involving young people in Maine government. I passed a law creating the first Youth Advisory Council to a legislature in the country.

    I have done trainings with the Youth Leadership Advisory Team (YLAT), an group of foster youth who serve in an advisory capacity to the director of Health and Human Services. And As a licensed clinical social worker, I have worked with young people at the Maine Youth Center, Day One, and a variety of other educational and social programs in Southern Maine.

    I believe that young people share my concerns for educational opportunities, affordable health care and the environment. I believe young people want peace in the world and a government that will be there for them if they need help. As for effectively representing young people, I would accomplish that the same that I would represent any other demographic: meet with people, listen to their concerns and develop practical solutions.

    Young people have a critical role in the political process, by pushing an important progressive agenda that others are sometimes unable or unwilling to push. This is why I would be so honored to have the support of a group like The League.
Top 3 priorities
    1) Provide educational opportunity to every citizen. Both our civic and economic future is tied to the knowledge our people acquire and how they use that knowledge to impact the world.

    2) Create a health care system that provides quality affordable health care to all people. This should be a basic human right, unrelated to one's socioeconomic position in the world.

    3) Preserve the environment. Sacrifices may have to be made in our businesses and in our checkbooks, but they are sacrifices we have to make in order to ensure that we pass on a cleaner earth to future generations. Preserving the environment is particularly critical for Maine’s future.

    I do also believe that we will not be able to make progress on any of these issues before we end the War in Iraq, and I do believe that the first action that a new Congress should make is bring an end to the War in Iraq.

Maine’s commercial fishing industry
    The fishing industry has been critical in Maine’s past and should play an important role in Maine’s future. We need to reinvent the industry to focus more on marine research, to embrace regional fishing management, and to look at aquaculture to the extent that it does not damage existing stocks. Overall, we need to employ science to public policy where appropriate and possible, and we also need to look at financial incentives and direct government support to all for the industry to continue to thrive.

Reproductive Rights
    When I was employed at the United Way, I worked with a number of different programs that provided sex education, and it is very clear from research that counseling young people about all the options and about the risks about early sexuality is the most effective approach for preventing disease, reducing teen pregnancy, and promoting healthy sexuality. It is a mistake to prevent anyone from making a fully informed decision about reproductive issues. As such, I did support the State of Maine’s rejection of abstinence-only education funding.

    The global gag rule serves no interest other than appeasing a portion of the conservative base - and, in fact, has the potential to do a great deal of on-the-ground damage. I do not believe that the federal government should be legislating morality either internationally or in the states. And I also believe that sex education that teaches young people how to be safe is critical from a health care perspective.

Tax and Budget
    I do not support extending these tax cuts. Tax cuts for the wealthy are not a magic elixir that can solve all of our problems. Tax cuts that make the tax code more progressive and put money in the hands of working-class and middle-class Americans make sense, when possible, but the tax cuts discussed in this question do very little of either. We will be better off spending that money on the domestic needs I have talked about here.

    While I was in the state legislature, I consistently worked for progressive and fair tax reform to expand the sales tax base in order to provide income and property tax relief. If elected to Congress I will continue those efforts.
Comments
    Thank you for all of the work you have done in Maine and all the work you continue to do. Thank you also for giving me the opportunity to come and speak to your elections committee.

    If I am the next congressperson for this district, I know that whatever happens, I will tell you the truth. In addition, this truth will rarely if ever "hurt", because I share so many of the values that the League holds dear.